Weekly Announcements  


Sunday, November 24                 
9:00 a.m.       Meeting for Singing, in John Barnes Room
9:45 a.m.       Early Gathering for MFW, in Meetinghouse and on Zoom
10:00 a.m.     Intergenerational Meeting for Worship, in Meetinghouse and on Zoom
11:00 a.m.     Coffee Break & Fellowship, hosted by Adult Education Committee


Intergenerational Worship - November 24
All Friends are welcome and encouraged to take part in our Intergenerational Worship at 10 AM on Sunday, November 24 in the meetinghouse. This will be our usual worship time, but meeting for worship will be lightly programmed and conducted in a way that is inclusive of all ages. There may be some music or a story to center the group around a query or testimony. Please plan to attend and get to know some of our youngest Friends, as well as Friends of all ages! If you prefer silent unprogrammed worship, space will be available in the John Barnes Room at that same time.

Right Sharing Applications
The Peace & Social Justice Committee (P&SJ) of Abington Friends Meeting is now accepting applications for the 2024 Right Sharing Fund. Applications must be submitted by mail or email to P&SJ by the deadline of 5 PM on Sunday, December 1, 2024.  Applications received after the stipulated date/time will not be considered.  Click Here to read the full instructions and download the application.

Winter Coat Drive 
Our Youth Committee, with the help of young Friends, is currently holding our annual Winter Coat Drive!  Please bring in new or gently used winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves (only the listed items, please!). There is a collection basket in the John Barnes Room as well as the vestibule. The collection will go through the end of December and will benefit Face to Face in Germantown. Thank you for your support!

Upcoming Adult Classes
December 1: The Diverse Nature of Quaker Spiritual Practice 
Beginning with the Hicksite-Orthodox split in 1827-1828, Ralph Lelli will invite all to explore how Quaker worship has evolved since then.

Looking Ahead to 2025 Adult Classes:
1/5/25: Bringing in the new year with community - more details to come!
1/26/25: Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence
2/2/25: Benjamin Lay lecture
2/16/25: Wanda Wyffels will facilitate a session on antiracism
2/23/25: George Schaefer will facilitate a session on Quaker Process.

Click Here for the Abington Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2024

Quaker Visiting Day at our Abington Friends School
Greetings Friends! We hope you can join the Abington Friends School community for this year's Quaker Visiting Day on Wednesday, November 20. You will have the opportunity to talk with students, meet the new Head of School, visit classrooms, attend Meeting for Worship, and have lunch with students and faculty. To RSVP, please complete this form.
The "day" will begin around 7:45 a.m. and conclude around 12:30 p.m.
Sincerely,
The Abington Friends School Quaker Action Committee

Registration & Survey for FDS and Child Care
If you have children or young friends in your family, please complete this survey to help us learn more about your family and to register them for First Day School (grades k - 12) or childcare (ages 0 - 5). In the case that you would not like to register your child(ren) for First Day School or child care, please complete the survey anyway to let us know more about your family and how we could support you in the meeting. 

Meeting for Singing
Meeting for Singing takes place every Sunday at 9 AM in the John Barnes Room, except Meeting for Business days. Please join us! No musical experience is required, just a willingness to enjoy some time singing together! 

Meeting for Worship to Attend to Business
All are welcome and encouraged to attend our next meeting for worship to attend to business on Sunday, December 8 at 11:30 AM in the meetinghouse and on our regular Sunday Zoom link. Our Hospitality Committee will host a coffee break prior to meeting for business. Please join us!

Ongoing Connections for Friends of Color, hosted by Friends General Conference (FGC)
Virtual Worship for Friends of Color:  
Evening Weekly Worship
Event Details - every Weds evening at 7pm.
In 2018, Friends General Conference began hosting virtual worship for People of Color. FGC established this practice as a result of a request by Friends of Color who participated in a retreat that summer. This is an opportunity for Friends of Color to connect across the United States and Canada. For more information and the link to participate: Click Here

Benjamin Lay Play Coming to Philadelphia
Tickets are now available for the Philadelphia production of the play, *The Return of Benjamin Lay*, co-written by Marcus Rediker, to be performed at the Quintessence Theatre Company (Sedgwick Theater) in Philadelphia May 1-18, 2025.
https://quintessencetheatre.org/thereturnofbenjaminlay
Historic abolitionist Benjamin Lay was a fascinating and fearless man who spoke out against the horrors of slavery, and he was a member of Abington Meeting. This important play shares his story. More information about Benjamin Lay, including his removal from membership and recent reinstatement as a "Friend of the Truth," can be found on our website. Click Here to view these resources. 

News of Friends for Monthly Newsletter
The News of Friends section in our monthly Newsletter is the place to share news of joy or good things happening in your life. If you have a joy to share, please email a sentence or two to Loretta Fox at AMM@abingtonfriends.net

Coffee Break Hosts Needed
Friends are encouraged to sign up to host a coffee break following our meeting for worship. Committees, families or individuals are welcome to sign up to host. If you'd like to work with someone else, feel free to find a Friend and sign up together. Click here for our Coffee Break Sign Up Sheet

Some Friendly Reminders...
  • Our First Aid Kit for the meetinghouse is kept on the kitchen counter in full view for easy access. It is important that it is replaced there if moved.
  • Food and beverages are not permitted in the meetinghouse. Please enjoy your refreshments in the John Barnes Room or on the porch.
  • If you are meeting after First Day Worship or any other time when Cathy/Mike/Bob are not immediately available, please remember to lock both Short Stables doors and/or the meetinghouse (whichever you have used) when you leave.  All clerks with codes should also remember to set the alarm after using the meetinghouse. Otherwise, the buildings may be open for a substantial period of time before Mike or Bob or Cathy return to the property. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation.
  • Any use of space indoors or outdoors needs to be scheduled through Cathy in the Meeting office. MeetingOffice@abingtonfriends.net
  • When you are present at the meetinghouse, please remember to wear your nametag. If you need a nametag, please sign up on the list just below the nametag shelf in the John Barnes Room.
  • When you visit our meetinghouse property on Sundays or for special events at other times, please do not park on the grass. Thank you!
  • Please remember that our meetinghouse driveway is One Way. We have had some near-misses recently with cars exiting the property the wrong way. Please remember to enter by Greenwood Avenue, and exit only onto Meetinghouse Road. One Way signs are posted along the driveway.
  • Many of us consider our meetinghouse to be a second home, so as a friendly reminder, please treat the Meeting property as though it really is your home:  Pick up trash, wash and dry your dishes, turn off the lights, and lock doors on your way out. Please remember that we do not have a Caretaker to clean up, so we all share this responsibility. Thank you, Friends!
  • Please rinse all items before putting them in the recycling bin. Please remember that ALL items with recycling codes (such as plastic cups) go in the recycling bins - there has been some tendency to put some recyclables in the trash, and then the trash has to be sorted.
  • The sections of the meetinghouse closest to the East Wing have been designated as an area to be used ONLY for Friends who choose to wear masks. We ask that Friends who wish to be unmasked kindly sit elsewhere in the meetinghouse. Friends wearing masks are still welcome to sit anywhere, but we acknowledge that some Friends prefer to sit only near others with masks on. Please maintain safe distancing, because comfort levels vary among Friends, and some Friends are higher risk.
As Friends, we are called to be ministers to one another...  
If you are struggling, or if you have a concern about one of our members or attenders, please let anyone on the Care of Members Committee know. You may contact CareofMembersAFM@gmail.com

Your Help is Needed
If you believe in the good work that we do at our beloved Abington Friends Meeting, please give regularly so that we can continue our work within our community and the wider world. This is a friendly reminder that donations of any amount are needed to continue this work. Please click on the How to Donate tab for specific ways to donate, including credit card, ACH and Venmo. Checks should be payable to Abington Monthly Meeting. Thank you for your generosity!

Daily Worship with Pendle Hill
In need of more frequent Quaker connection? You are invited to join the Pendle Hill community for worship, which takes place in the Barn and online from 8:30am to 9:10am every day, Monday through Sunday.
Join Pendle Hill worship via Zoom
Our daily Meeting for Worship, a gathering based in silence, is central to life at Pendle Hill and has been held every day since Pendle Hill first opened its doors in 1930. We invite you to join us, whatever your beliefs, convictions, and experiences.

Learning Opportunities at Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill offers many interesting and enlightening programs all year long. For complete information about what's coming up, click here.
 
Hello
Hello and welcome to our meeting. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

New to Abington Friends Meeting? 

All are welcome to attend Meeting for Worship at Abington Friends Meeting!  

Our official name is: Abington Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. We are called "monthly" because we meet once a month to attend to business, but we have meeting for worship every Sunday. 

Indoor Meeting for Worship
10:00 AM until 11:00 AM
Year-round

First Day School (Adult Class)
Occasional Sundays, September – May
11:15 AM. All ages welcome.
First Day School consists of talks and activities that provide a Quaker perspective on the issues and challenges of everyday life. 

First Day School (Children and Teens)
All Sundays, September - May
10:15 AM
Activities are offered for high schoolers, middle schoolers, and elementary school children. Click Here to register.

Outdoor Meeting for Worship
Every Sunday, mid-June - Labor Day (weather permitting)
10:00 AM until 11:00 AM (happening at the same time as indoor Meeting for Worship)
In addition to our normal indoor Meeting for Worship, we hold optional outdoor Meetings behind the Meeting House during the summer.

Childcare
Childcare for children up to age six is available on the second floor of the Meeting House, at the end of the building and to your left. 

Parking
Members and attenders park on the right side of the driveway leading up to the Meeting House (accessible from Greenwood Avenue) or in the parking lot on the west side of the Meeting House (accessible from Meetinghouse Road). Please note that our meetinghouse driveways are one-way, so vehicles must enter from Greenwood Avenue. 

Orientation
As you enter the Meetinghouse, which is what we call our place of worship, the room where the Meeting gathers will be the first door on your right. The John Barnes Room, which is where we meet for adult classes, special events, or business, will be the first door on your left.

Meeting Etiquette
Because Quakers worship in silence, please lower your voice when approaching the Meeting House before Meeting for Worship. Likewise, please silence your cellphone.

There is no pastor or minister. Instead, attenders rise and speak when the Spirit moves them, generally keep their comments brief and of a spiritual, heartfelt nature, and allow ample time for others to reflect on what has been said before rising to speak. Statements often have a common thread; however, this is not a requirement. 

Please browse around this website for other important information!